My Health Va Gov

Is It Possible To Switch My Health Insurance Provider

By bimadeals1 : A how to tutorial about Health Insurance, Max Bupa, ICICI Lombard, Insurance with step by step guide from bimadeals1.

Yes. Health insurance portability facilitates one to switch your service provider if you are not happy with their services without compromising on policy terms. This will increase competition thus help you well-priced and more quality services. In fact it is going to be possible from the 1st of July 2011, just 4 months away!
Sanjay Datta, the head of health at ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, "It is more like mobile number portability. Waiting period of customers will be removed".
This is going to bring immense relief to unsatisfied health insurance customers. And, portability is going to make the health insurers very competitive thus making them serve their customers better.
Bharti AXA General Insurance CEO and Managing Director Amarnath Ananthanarayanan said, "There will be increased competition in the sector and better quality of service. Overcharging and variation in rates of premium would be reduced".
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority or IRDA ' the sectoral regulator has issued guidelines has made it compulsory that pre-existing diseases (PED), which are covered by the existing insurers, would also be covered by the new insurer. Also the insurance companies will have to provide all records and claims history of the customer to the new insurance company.
To quote IRDA - "It is essential to protect the policyholders against discontinuity and consequential loss of PED cover by making the health insurance plans portable across the insurance companies".
Datta said, "Customers can now choose to shift their insurers in a hassle free way as there would be lot of choice of them and would also ensure better quality of service from the insurance companies by increasing competition".Max Bupa Health Insurance CFO Neeraj Basur said, "This will bring in more transparency and will also allow insurers to assess the risk and provide underwriting at the point of sales".
Insurers say that though group insurance policies would be easily portable, individual policies could take some time; as, group policies offered by different insurers are mostly similar in nature but individual policies work out differently according to individual customers. Also, it will take time to ensure satisfaction after portability of individual health insurance due to dissimilar benefits and features of individual plans. The long and short of it is at least there is a chance to change your health insurer and get better service.